Truth Behind Lies
by Yours truly - Pride
Summary: When Natsu comes to realise that all the facts he has been fed with have all been lies. He sets out to find the truth behind these lies and upset the balance that those at the top of the hierarchy have created through manipulation and deception. (Previously known as "Watch the World Burn". Do read and review.
1. Chapter 1: Fragments

**Pride here! I know it's been a long time, and I have no excuses for not updating my other fics, but I want to start afresh, so here I am with a new fic! Also, just to clarify, I will not be updating my other fics. I might rewrite "Devil's Halo". I won't delete the other fics, so that they serve as reminders that I should never ever write such a crappy fic ever again. Right, enough of my rambling, now on to the story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. **

Narrator's Perspective

'_Thoughts_'

_"Speech" _

**"Attacks/Raised Voices"**

_Settings- Place and Time _**  
**

**Truth Behind Lies**

a Fairy Tail original fanfiction

Narrator's Perspective

'_Thoughts_'

_"__Speech" _

**"****Attacks/Raised Voices"**

_Settings- Place and Time _

_Memories_

**Chapter 1 – Fragments**

_July X784, Railway to Clover Town_

Natsu Dragneel was frustrated. His clothes had been torn up to shreds some time ago, and his body was decorated with various cuts and lacerations. He glanced down and saw a deep gash running down the calf of his leg. He was exhausted and running out of magic.

'_Damn, this guy just had to come and ruin my day, didn't he?_'

His lungs were burning from the inside, screaming for air and his body felt like it was on fire, demanding magical power. He felt a small opening to a source of magical energy within himself. Desperately, he reached out, only to fail, and this further stoked the flames of frustration within him, causing them to grow.

However, all of his injuries and exhaustion were nothing compared to the disappointment he felt inside. No, disappointment wouldn't be the right word for that. Natsu Dragneel felt despair. Igneel did not raise him for nothing. He was not a fire dragon-slayer for nothing. He was not called "The Salamander" for nothing. Above all, he was not a mage of Fairy Tail for nothing, if he could not defeat this annoying dark guild member, who was probably an A-Class mage at best.

No, Natsu Dragneel decided. No, he would not lose to the likes of Erigor, storm mail or not.

'_He can shroud himself in that armour all he likes, I'm gonna rip that off him no matter what!_'

'_But first of all, I gotta reach for that magic within me. I shouldn't have wasted my magic on those small fries earlier, but oh well. It's too late for that now._'

As though to interrupt his thoughts on purpose, Erigor attacked Natsu again.

**"****Emera Baram!"**

_"__Too bad little flame, your last lesson was that Fire can never hope to defeat wind! No one can survive my __**Emera Baram**__, it's an attack that can cut everything up into small pieces! Nothing shall remain! Perish!" _

When the attack ended and the dust and debris had settled, Erigor saw to his shock, that Natsu's body was still intact.

"_Hmm, not bad for a fly…" _

That was the last straw for Natsu. His mind was a cluttered mess, clouded by rage and fury. In his desperation, he did not notice his magic container extend a thin tendril of his remaining magical energy towards the alternative source of magic present in his body. The little tendril snaked itself, inching its way desperately towards its last hope.

All Natsu saw was red. All around him, the rails were red, the leaves floating around his opponent and himself were red, Erigor was red, and the cat was – the red cat was saying something to him…

Natsu saw his red Happy mouth something that seemed like he was telling Natsu to leave the battle to…TO GRAY?!

'_HELL NO!_'

Not happening. Absolutely not. There was no way he was going to lose to that stripper. No way the son of Igneel was going to give up on his fight and let Gray, of all people, finish it for him!

The tendril reached its objective. It began to swell, and become thicker. The magical energy started to flow copiously into the dragon slayer's once-empty primary magical container. Natsu felt the magical power surge through his body, and decided to let all hell loose.

"_RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!_"

The flames raged around him, burning so hot that even ice would be instantly turned to steam if it were to come into contact with the flames. The wind surrounding Erigor began to flow towards a region of lower air pressure, which happened to be the region around Natsu.

Erigor was left baffled at how his Storm Mail had been ripped off him so easily, and realized with horror, the true power of a dragon slayer. Despite all his injuries and exhaustion from the battles before, the puny fly before him still had so much power left!

'_NO! NO! NONONONONO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!_'

The two combatants, in the heat of battle coupled with exhaustion and lack of energy, failed to notice the faint tint of black surrounding Natsu's flames.

_In Natsu's mind_

'_You want to defeat him, do you not? Release me, and I shall grant you the power you need', _a mysterious voice beckoned.

'_Who are you? Go away! I don't need your help to defeat him!'_, Natsu yelled back, still blinded by rage.

'_True. You can defeat him on your own, but I want to stretch my arms and legs for a bit too. I've been cooped up in here for far too long.'_

_'__No. And you still haven't answered my question, who are you?!' _

_'__To put it simply, I am you. Everything you see, I see. Everything you smell, I smell, and everything you feel, I feel too. This is my body as much as it's yours. Except that I've been in here for a bit longer than you have. I am the original owner of this body. You were created by my mind due to…an incident. I'd rather not talk about it now.' _

_'__Are you strong?! If I let you out, you gotta fight me after this! Wait no, it would be better if you helped me beat Erza afte–' _

Natsu's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden surge of visions and thoughts running through his head.

_X420, Phoenixia, Capital of Ishgal_

_The Capital of Phoenixia was bustling with people of all ages and occupations. In the very centre of the city, there was a large building. The headquarters of the Unified Mage Council. The Unified Mage Council was an organization that ruled over the humans at the time and protected them. It was the olden-day equivalent of a government. _

_The Unified Mage Council (UMC) was also the embodiment of the humans, the force that united them all against the Dragons in the Great Dragon War. So far, the Dragons seemed to have an edge, narrow as it may be, over the humans. However, the situation would soon be overturned, or so the people believed. They were given new hope by the new Dragon Slayer program which was run by the government. _

_"__Hey, did you hear, the Council has a facility on the outskirts of Phoenixia?" says an excited villager to the fruit-seller. _

_"__Yes, yes! I also heard that they are going to use the facility to create special mages who can kill dragons!" was the enthusiastic reply. _

_"__Really? That's amazing! Only the mages of the Council have been able to fight the dragons, it would be amazing if there were more capable mages in our society!" _

_"__I agree with you. But, I wonder where they are going to get their mages from… Hey! D'you think we could try to take part in the program and become dragon killers?" _

_"__Now, now don't get ahead of yourself, Galatea my dear. We don't even know if it works yet, what if the program fails, or if there are side effects to the methods used? And, my dear, it's dragon slayers, not dragon killers…" the villager trails away, trying and failing to stifle her giggles. _

_"__*sighs* I guess you're right. Hmph. I knew they're called dragon slayers, I was just…just…" _

_"__Just what, Galatea? *chuckles*" _

_"__Oh shut up"_

_X420, Draven residence, Phoenixia, Ishgal_

_"__MOMMY! MOMMY!" _

_A small boy of no more than 6 years old, dressed in a simple brown sleeveless shirt and grey shorts scurried into his house, his tiny body twitching in excitement. His eyes were black in colour, or as the Draven's neighbours fondly described them – darker than black. Young Ryde Draven had short, naturally spiky pink hair that were slightly long, reaching to his shoulders. _

_"__What is it, Ryde?" _

_His mother was a an average-sized woman that most people would consider attractive. She had pink hair just like her son, but it was longer, reaching past her shoulders, to her back. Her eyes were a mesmerizing hazel-colour. She lifted her quill from the article she was writing for the _Phoenix Daily_, and tore her eyes off it to find out just what had gotten her cute little child all excited. _

_"__Look, mommy! I caught a biiiigg fishy!" exclaimed the little boy, waving his prized catch in the air. _

_"__Oh look, my little boy's becoming such a responsible little man just like his father!" the mother replied with a warm smile, ruffling her son's hair affectionately. _

_"__Mommy, let's cook this and eat it together with daddy!"_

_"__Okay, dear, now calm down, mommy will cook you that fish for dinner, okay?" _

_"__Promise?"_

_"__Promise." _

_"__Pinky promise?"_

_"__Oh, no young man. You are not going to smear that mud and fish all over me. Now go in and wash up, you're all filthy and dirty. Shoo!" _

_Little Ryde complied to his mother's instructions, leaving the fish on the kitchen table, scampering off to the bathroom to clean up. _

**_KNOCK_**

**_KNOCK KNOCK_**

_The woman opened the door to see five men dressed in the navy blue robes of the UMC's Magic Army. _

_"__Sylvia Draven?"_

_"__Yes, that's me. May I know what it is that you want? My husband is not at home right now, but I will try to be of help" she spoke with a polite smile. _

_"__Yes, we are well aware that Lord Zeref Draven is on a mission for the UMC right now. Is Master Ryde Draven at home?" _

_July X784, Railway to Clover Town_

**"****Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" **

The dragon slayer's fist slammed into Erigor's middle, breaking a few ribs and causing part of his lungs to collapse. Erigor slammed into the rails and gasped for breath before abruptly falling unconscious.

Seeing the sight of his fallen enemy, Natsu snapped back to his senses. He puzzled for a while, wondering what happened within that short span of time that he blacked out. He remembered seeing many images that made no sense.

_'__Two women talking…'_

_'__A pink-haired woman…'_

_'__A small pink-haired boy…was that his long-lost brother or something?'_

_'__Those weirdly-dressed soldiers…'_

"_Natshuuuu! You beat them!" _came the cheerful voice of Happy, his best buddy, son and partner, which so happened to be a flying cat. Nothing weird about that. Nope, not at all.

_"__HA! What did you say about me not being able to defeat Erigor, Happy?!"_

_"__Uhhh I don't remember…cats have bad memory"_

_"__Weren't you saying that I couldn't beat Erigor and that I should leave it to Erza or something?!"_

_"__Your memory is worse than a cat's…"_

_"__NATSU!" _came the voice of a concerned Erza Scarlet.

_"__Yo, Erza! I beat him!"_

_"__I'm so glad you're alright!" _she said, slamming his head into the breastplate of her armour, causing poor Natsu to struggle to hold on to consciousness.

_"__Heh, flame brain. Look, you're all beat up. Couldn't even beat a simple opponent?" _came the teasing voice of Gray Fullbuster, resident ice mage of Fairy Tail.

_"__Shut it, ice princess! Like you could do any better!"_

_"__Wanna go at it? Flame-brain!" _

_"__Natsu…Gray… No fighting on my watch," _the boys' fight was stopped by Erza's calm and deliberately sweet voice which carried the threat of death-by-head-bonking between the lines.

"*sigh* Yet another normal day in the life of a Fairy Tail mage," Lucy Heartfilia groaned.

"Aye!"

**I will try to make this story have minimal romance, and nope it's not going to be a NaLu fic. My apologies to the NaLu fans out there for disappointing you, but I just don't ship NaLu. **

**Do read and review. Feel free to voice any burning questions about the story, and I will answer if I feel that it will not ruin the air of suspense that I'm trying to establish. **

**Yours truly, Pride. **


	2. Chapter 2: Holiday Havoc

**Pride: Here's the next chapter, and Natsu may be a quite OOC in this. I did it intentionally, because I felt that he is not exactly a blockhead, and receives less credit than he deserves. Besides, Natsu being a blockhead would not go well with my storyline at all…**

**To my dear readers, in case you are not following me: Please do check out my three other stories (and most importantly, remember to REVIEW!), "Dragon Invasion", "Tell Me You'll Never Leave Me" and "Profanities". **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters.**

* * *

Narrator's Perspective

'_Thoughts_'

_"__Speech" _

**"****Attacks/Raised Voices"**

_Settings- Place and Time _

_Memories/ Diary Entries_

* * *

**Truth Behind Lies**

A Fairy Tail original fanfiction.

**Chapter 2 – Holiday Havoc **

_21 SeptemberX784, Magnolia Town, Natsu and Happy's home_

"_Natshuuuuu! Aren't you going to the guild?" _an enthusiastic Happy enquired.

_"__Nah, you go ahead little buddy. I'll finish writing my diary entry first" _came the reply of his foster father, Natsu Dragneel.

_"__Since when did you know how to write, Natsu?" _

_"__Since Erza…taught me to"_

_"__Taught?" _

_"__Kinda." _

_"__I thought it was more like she _beat it _into you, heehee" _

_"__Shut it, Happy!" _Natsu playfully scolded his partner, who flew out of the house snickering to himself.

* * *

_Natsu's diary_

_Dear diary, I haven't been able to write to you as often as I would have liked to because many things have happened in the last few months. _

_Remember that guy I told you about, the one that called himself Ryde? I met him again when I was fighting Lullaby. He's a cool guy, but I don't get why he keeps saying that he is me. I mean, I am me right? But if I had his powers, I bet I could beat Erza anytime! _

_Speaking of Erza, remember when I asked her to fight me after we stopped Erigor? She accepted, but we didn't get to finish our fight 'cause a stupid frog from the Council arrested her and took her away. _

_I got Macao to pretend to be me, and disguised myself as Erza. It took a guild a while to realize that I was gone, and the people at the Council – boy, their faces were priceless when I barged into the courtroom! I saw Yajima-san there, as well as some blue-haired man that gave me a bad vibe. I don't like him. _

_The Councillors threw me and Erza into the jail for a night just to make an example of us to the other guilds. The nerve of them! I got beaten up by Erza for making such a big scene and getting us both landed in prison for a night, but I felt that it was worth it when I saw how Erza's expression. She told me she was happy that I cared enough to go to such lengths for her. _

_I want Erza to keep smiling, so I won't let anyone make her sad!_

_The next day, I got Happy to steal an S-Class request from the second floor so that I could get stronger and protect Erza. We got Lucy to come with us, but when we reached the harbor to catch a boat to Galuna Island, Gray caught up to us and said that he was going to bring us back to the guild. _

_In the end, we got him to come with us on the mission, and we also found out that the sailor, Bobo, was a ghost – can you believe that?! When Gray didn't return to the guild, Erza came after us._

_Long story short, we found Gray's fellow student, Lyon, who wanted to melt the ice around Deliora to beat it and surpass his teacher, Ur. We beat him and his lackeys and found out that Deliora was already dead. Later, we also found out that the villagers weren't turning into demons, they already were demons! Apparently something about the purple moon made them think that they were humans. _

_When we returned to Magnolia, we found that Phantom Lord wrecked our guild while nobody was there! Such cowards! That night, Phantom's Black Steel Gajeel beat up Jet, Droy and Levy – how DARE he do that to my sister – and nailed them to a tree in the middle of the town square. _

_Master brought us to fight Phantom Lord, but before we could give them a good trashing, one of their strongest mages cheated and drained Master of his magic, so Erza told us to retreat. _

_They kidnapped Lucy because her father asked them to, and used the opportunity to attack Fairy Tail, so I went and saved Lucy from a tower they locked her in. _

_Another day, the Phantom Lord master attacked us using a giant robot on legs, and Black Steel kidnapped Lucy again. _

_We beat the Element Four, I trashed Gajeel (he was a dragon slayer too, and told me his father disappeared on the same day that Igneel did!) and Master used Fairy Law to beat Jose and his shades. _

_After that, we rebuilt our guild - it's so much cooler now, with the swimming pool and shop selling figurines that look just like us! Guess what? I asked Max, and he told me that the figurines of me had a higher demand than the Gray figurines. HA! Can't wait to rub that in the stripper's face! Master told me that the best addition to the new guild would be the new waitresses at the bar to which Mira gave him a scary glare, though I don't understand why…_

_Then, we found out that Loke was actually a celestial spirit! And the bastard didn't even bother to tell us that even though we've been his family for so many years! Apparently he caused the death of his previous owner, so the Celestial Spirit King banished him from his world. Not to worry though! Lucy solved the problem and now she has Loke, or rather Leo the Lion Spirit's key!_

_Now that all is well and peaceful, hopefully we can catch up on some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Especially Erza, she's worked her ass off for the guild, she should really take a break. _

_Right, that's all, so 'til next time! _

* * *

_21 SeptemberX784, Outside Fairy Tail guild, Magnolia Town_

_"__Natsu! Wait up!"_ squealed Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu's best friend and sister-figure.

"_Lucy? You're late today. I thought you'd usually be earlier than me at the guild_?" Natsu queried.

"_Yeah, but guess what? ImetLokeandhesaidthanksandhewantedtogivemeticketstoaresort- "_

_"__Whoa, whoa there, Luce. Slow down a bit, will ya'?" _

_"__Oh sorry. As I was saying, I met Loke on my way here and he said he was grateful to me for saving his life and look – he gave me tickets to Akane Resort as thanks!" _squealed Lucy excitedly, waving four tickets in her hands.

"_Akane Resort? What's that?"_

"_It's a seaside resort with a casino and other facilities, and I have four tickets! You know what that means? Erza, Gray, you and I can all go on a vacation to the resort!"_

_"__Really? That's great, Luce! Let's go ask Erza and ice-queen if they're coming!"_ Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and practically dragged her into the guild in his excitement.

_21 September X784, Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia Town_

**SMASH!**

The doors of the guild were knocked off their hinges as Fairy Tail's lovable dragon slayer came barging in, which was a pretty usual occurrence in the guild.

"_Nat-su-Drag-neel! How many times must I tell you not to break the doors!_" Erza reprimanded her friend, shooting him a glare that caused everyone else in the guild to cringe in fear. The recipient of the glare, though was unfazed.

"_Erzaaa! Lucy said she got tickets for all four of us, including Ice-Brains, to Akase Resort!"_

_"__It's Akane!" _cut in Lucy.

_"__Whatever. The tickets are for the 22nd to the 27th September, Erza! Want to come? And speaking Ice-brains, where is he?" _

_"__Who're you calling ice-brains, squinty-eyes?!" _Gray shouted back while pulling on his shorts that had "magically disappeared" moments earlier.

_"__Want to go, droopy eyes?!"_

_"__Yeah, you pile of flaming shit!"_

_"__Who're you calling shit, you walking ice lolly?!"_

_"__You, obviously, retar-"_

**THUD!**

The sound of two heads colliding echoed throughout the guild hall.

_"__S-s-scary!"_ was the one thought that ran through the heads of everyone else present in the guild.

"_Very well, Lucy. I accept. Natsu, Gray! Go and pack. I expect to see you at the train station tomorrow at 9 o' clock in the morning, sharp!" _said Erza.

"_AYE!" _came the voices of Happy #2 and Happy #3.

* * *

_22 September X784, Magnolia Train Station, 9:45 a.m._

"_Natsu. What time did I tell you to be here at the train station?" _asked Erza in a sickly sweet voice.

"_S-s-sorry E-erza! I overslept! Pleasedon'tkillme!"_

"_You…*sigh* Nevermind. Just hurry up, let's board the train, you're lucky it hasn't left yet. Otherwise…"_

_"__*gulps*" _

_"__*sigh* What am I going to do with you, Natsu…" _

* * *

_22 September X784, Magnolia_

_"__Urghhhhh…."_

_"__Don't you dare puke on my, flame brains!"_

_"__Shut up, ice- ughhhh" _Natsu couldn't finish his sentence as his face turned green due to the train running along a particularly bumpy part of the railway.

_"__Ice-ughhh? That's new, shit-for-brains."_

_"__Gray?" _Erza interrupted Gray's oncoming stream of insults, seeing as Natsu was unable to retaliate in his current condition.

_"__?"_

_"__Shut up." _

_"__Aye, ma'am!"_

_"__Natsu."_

_"__Er-zha?"_

_"__Come sit next to me," _she beckoned to him in a gentle voice. Natsu complied, moving across with great effort to sit next to Erza.

_"__Pleaz don knock me out-" _the pink-haired boy pleaded with difficulty, fighting to keep the ball of puke down his throat, just as Erza raised her arm to elbow him in the stomach.

Her eyes softened. "_Alright then. Lay your head on my lap."_

Natsu did as he was told, and closed his eyes in bliss as Erza's fingers running through his hair soothed his motion-sickness.

Lucy and Gray just looked upon the scene with interest and slight surprise as they had seen neither Natsu nor Erza get so comfortable with a person of the opposite sex before.

"_They liiiikeeee each ot-"_ Lucy shut the blue cat's mouth, not wanting him to interrupt this rare moment between her two friends.

The rest of the train ride passed by uneventfully, save for the slight upturning of Natsu and Erza's lips as they sat in relative silence, relishing in each other's company.

* * *

_22 September X784, Akane Resort, Ume Town_

A gigantic and extremely colourful building not unlike a castle loomed ahead of the group of four as they gaped at it in awe. Natsu and Gray's jaws dropped to the ground in shock and disbelief. Sure, they had expected the hotel to be fancy and all, but not as fancy and rich as **this**! Even Happy had nothing to say, all the smart comments he might have had being caught in his throat.

Erza's eyes were wide and she was visibly in awe of the massive structure, build and architecture, though she wasn't gaping like the other two, because Erza Scarlet does NOT gape.

Even Lucy seemed a little impressed, despite having grown up in the huge Heartfilia Konzern Residence and played in the vast lands nearby that her father owned.

The huge archway leading to the entrance of the hotel overlooked a broad stretch of the beach, with white sands flanking it. However, the people playing on the beach were making their way back to the hotel in a slow trot.

To their far left there was a huge ferris wheel and a theme park that drove Natsu's excitement off the charts.

Entering the lobby of the hotel, the four mages were visibly and obviously impressed with the high stone archways, ceiling and the many intricately designed statuettes that added to the grandeur of the building. The marble floors had been painstakingly polished so shiny they could practically see their reflections as flawless as they would look in a mirror. In the far right corner of the lobby, there were five clusters of plush armchairs surrounding small glass tables. There were multiple fireplaces adorning the edges of the lobby, engulfing the armchairs' occupants in comfortable warmth.

"_Whoa, I've never been to such a ritzy hotel before!" _exclaimed Natsu, his initial amazement not having worn off.

"_You know what, flame brain? For once, I agree with you," _admitted Gray, in the same state as Natsu; eyes bugging out of their sockets, slack-jawed and arms hanging limply at their sides.

While her friends were busy taking in the sights of the posh life for the first time in their lives, Lucy stepped forward to the check-in counter, her high-heeled boots clicking on the marble tiles as she took each step. She handed in the four tickets and collected the four room keys, as well as the complementary buffet coupons, making small talk with the kindly young lady manning the counter.

"_Natsu, this place is nice, but it's not good enough if they don't have any fish," _Happy decided.

The mention of fish made Natsu's endless abyss of a stomach growl.

"_Erza, I'm hungry,"_ Natsu whined after he had gotten used to the grandiose of their temporary residence.

"_No, Natsu, you may not eat the fire from the fireplace. Besides, we'll be having dinner in just a while,"_ she said sternly.

"_Okay!"_

The four Fairies (and a cat!) made their way to their rooms at a brisk pace, dragging their suitcases – in Erza's case, a mountain of luggage.

They deposited their luggage in their rooms and looked around, fooling around with the facilities provided in each room. Natsu found the mini-fridge in one of the rooms, but was sorely disappointed when he found nothing but ice cubes inside.

Happy burrowed his furry little head into one of the fluffy pillows, wishing nothing but to lie there forever, all thoughts of fish forgotten.

Gray was so fascinated by the lacrima television and kept switching between channels before Lucy stopped him, fearing for the condition of the remote. They even had a rectangular lacrima that allowed one to read books, which Lucy spazzed over. (A/N: Yes, it is the magic world's version of an iPad, in case you're wondering.)

Erza, meanwhile, was playing around with the many taps surrounding the bathtub in the bathroom, watching in rapt fascination as each tap spouted a stream of different-coloured water, bubbles, and the like.

Once their initial fascination with the strange objects had worn off, Lucy led her friends down to the restaurant in the hotel, where they enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet using their coupons. Naturally, Natsu was giddy with excitement.

"_The poor chefs are going to collapse from exhaustion, with the amount of food they're going to have to cook_," snickered Happy. There was no rebuttal.

* * *

Two hours later, the four mages made their way back to their rooms, their bellies content. Getting changed, they made their way to the swimming pool on the roof of the resort, Erza's idea.

While Gray, Lucy and Happy were having a splash war a little distance off, Natsu voiced his confusion and befuddlement to Erza, hoping that she would be able to help him out.

"_Erza, do you know anyone called Ryde?"_

The scarlet-haired mage's pretty face scrunched up in surprise and slight confusion as she considered her friend's question.

_"__Never heard of such a person, why?"_

_"__Remember when we were fighting Erigor? At that time, I ran out of energy and a guy called Ryde spoke to me in my mind, saying that he could help me win. I said no, but then I suddenly saw visions that I've never seen before. There wasn't a single person I knew in those visions. Oh, and I saw a pink-haired woman call her son 'Ryde'. When I came to, Erigor was already unconscious." _

The fire mage looked down, upset at the complexity of what had happened, his mind unable to grasp the entire situation.

"_Hmmm…then maybe it would be safe to assume that that Ryde person is a part of you?"_

_"__That's what he told me. At first I thought that he might be my long lost brother or something, but then he wouldn't be able to get into my mind and take over my body if he was," _the pinkette confirmed.

"_Then what if the boy you saw in the vision was you?" _the female asked.

"_Wouldn't I remember if I was? Besides, I've always been Natsu, for as long as I've known," _he stated.

"_Fair enough. Maybe this person is a telepathic mage who's just trying to fool with your mind. For now, we lack information to come to anything conclusive about this person, and I doubt anyone else, even Master, can give us an answer regarding this. Only time can give us all the answers we need; it is the solution to nearly everything. For now, we must remain patient and watchful,"_ she advised, reminding Natsu of why he turned to Erza of all people for advice.

"_Okay!"_ he grinned brightly.

Erza shivered a little under the cold winds, moving closer to Natsu to enjoy the warmth his body provided, and relishing in the touch of the water around him that had been warmed up by his body heat.

A mischievous grin crept its way onto Natsu's face, putting Erza slightly on edge.

"_SPLASH WAR!"_

Erza found herself being engulfed in a wave of warm water. She was immensely relieved and wanted to enjoy the warmth, but she had to get some revenge. And so she did.

Soon, the two were chasing each other around the pool, splashing (if you can call it that) water, using their magic to enhance the force behind the water attacks. Happy flew around them, dumping water on them using a bucket that he had found. Where he found that bucket, no one knows, and it's highly likely that no one else would be finding out anytime soon.

The splash war between two (with Happy's ambushes) turned into a team battle between the five teammates, ending up with all four being physically exhausted, but mentally uplifted. They all left the pool with smiles on their faces, their stress and burden from the recent events having left them.

* * *

Upon reaching her room, Lucy went into the bathroom to get changed and ready for bed. When she came out though, she saw four grinning intruders making themselves comfortable. Two of them sat on her bed, one was sprawled out topless across the sofa in the far corner of the room, and the last one plopped himself onto her head.

"_Do you have to break in into my room even now?!" _Lucy screamed so loudly, Gray was sure she would have woken up the rest of the resort's residents by now.

"_Aye!"_ Happy chimed happily (no pun intended) from on top of her head.

"_How did you even manage to get into my room?!" _the outraged inhabitant of the room shrieked.

Gray smirked and held up a key made out of ice by way of a reply.

"_We came to play cards with you, Luce!"_ Natsu grinned enthusiastically, the exhaustion from the rest of the day's event not showing on his face in the slightest bit.

Lucy sighed. Might as well, seeing as she wasn't getting some sleep anytime soon.

The five mages – or rather, four mages and a cat – spent the rest of the night playing poker and watching interesting programmes on the lacrima screen in Lucy's room before they all fell asleep in her room at about two in the morning, sprawled out in awkward positions over her bed, on the sofa or on the floor.

They slept fitfully, their minds blissfully free of thoughts and even dreams.

Save for one.

As usual, Happy lay dreaming about fish, drooling in his sleep.

* * *

**Omake: Happy's dream**

In his dream, Happy found himself lying on the roof of his and Natsu's house. He remembered vaguely playing cards with the rest of Team Natsu. Or something like that…

His tiny stomach growled. Happy frowned. That would not do, at all. His stomach had to be filled, and at once.

He climbed down the sooty chimney, dousing himself in soot and dust, ending up in the empty fireplace. Of course. The fireplace must be empty, especially considering that it mainly serves to house Natsu's midnight snack.

Speaking of midnight snacks, Happy desperately needed one.

He searched in the fridge. Nope, empty. What's the use of a fridge when there's no food inside?!

He searched inside his pouch that always seemed to have a fish inside it, despite its size. Nope, nothing.

He searched underneath the bedsheets, under the bed, in the sink, inside the closet, and practically everywhere, but to no avail.

By this point, Happy was on the brink of tears, when a second Happy clad in armor and wielding a sword appeared on his right shoulder.

"_How can you give up so easily?" _it asked.

"_Y-you're right! I can't give up yet!" _

"_Indeed! Who are you?" _

_"__I'm Happy, foster son of Natsu Dragneel!" _

_"__And by extension?" _the figure prompted further.

"_The foster-grandson of Igneel!" _

_"__And?" _

_"__The great, fearless Nekomander!" _

_"__That's right! So are you going to let something as petty as hunger defeat you?!" _

_"__No!" _

_"__What must you do?!"_

_"__I must go out and hunt that fish like the predatory cat I am!" _

_"__Correct! Now go and get it, tiger!" _

With that last encouragement, the figure vanished with a "poof".

With renewed vigour, Happy flew up the chimney and into the woods nearby, landing just beside a small, clear pool.

He quickly washed himself clean of the soot sticking to his fur, and stared into the crystal clear waters.

He saw exactly four fishes swimming. Each of them had the face of Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lucy respectively.

Happy's eyes sparkled in awe and joy. Finally, his perseverance had paid off!

"_I'm going to eat you all, fishies! Just you wait. But first, I'm going to eat the Erza fishie! None of you can escape me, the great Nekomander! HUEHUEHUE!" _Happy cackled to himself in his cattish voice.

In the real world, Erza shifted uncomfortably in her position on Lucy's bed as a shudder ran down her spine. She had the uncanny feeling that something was trying to eat her. For probably the second time, Erza Scarlet feared something tangible, and it was something small, blue, furry and winged.

* * *

**There you go! The second chapter of "Watch the World Burn". This chapter was more relaxed, and mainly to skim over the less significant events in between. It was also to serve as a break between the first chapter and the upcoming serious second chapter. Note: The events at Akane Resort in my story were a little different from those that were in the manga, 'cause I felt that it would be too mundane and unoriginal if I were to copy and paste the events from the manga/anime, exactly as they were. Please remember to review before you go, as reviews are the greatest encouragement as well as gauge of ability a writer can get. Thanks for reading, til' the next instalment, seeya!**

**Yours truly, Pride. **


	3. Chapter 3: Apprenticed Again

**Pride: Natsu may be a quite OOC in this chapter as well, and I won't regret it. As much as I hate writing clichéd stuff, I seem to have no choice in this chapter, for the sake of plot development. I have committed the taboo of writing cliché incidents. There is a special place in writers' hell for me, I just know it but alas, I have no choice. T_T**

**To my dear readers, in case you are not following me: Please do check out my other stories (and most importantly, remember to REVIEW!). Preferably, "Moments That Never Fade Away", "Web of Deceit" and "Blood Looks Good on You", since they kinda lack reviews compared to the other fics? **

**Sorry for the long wait, guys, but here's the next chapter of "Truth Behind Lies"**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters. **

Narrator's Perspective

'Thoughts'

_"_Speech_" _

**"****Attacks/Raised Voices"**

_Settings- Place and Time _

_Memories/ Diary Entries_

**Truth Behind Lies**

A Fairy Tail original fanfiction.

**Chapter 3 – Apprenticed Again**

_X419, Avalon Desert, Ishgal_

_Four men stood panting, facing two mighty behemoths of massive proportions. The two dragons towered over them, snouts flaring open in obvious distaste and fury. _

_The first was a beautiful white, scales shimmering beautifully in the faint light of the setting sun. _

_The second dragon was also white, but with faint blue patterns of swirls running along its body. _

_The dragons were easily ten times bigger each of the four mages facing them. Their bright yellow chests puffed out in indignance and anger._

_'__How dare these puny creatures even hope to defeat us! We'll rout them all!' _

_They had ridges of sharp spines running down their lower neck and backs, down to their strong, muscular tails that were beating down on the ground, striking up a sandstorm. _

_Their feet were equipped with sharp claws that could each open in their adversaries, a gash as big as a human arm. This trait of theirs could be seen as redundant, considering the amount of strength and brute force contained in their bodies, and their control over the elements, not to mention their stubborn scales which formed a divine armour to protect them from almost any magic. _

_"__Do not underestimate us, you overgrown lizards! What we lack in size and offensive power, we make up for in precision and mastery over our magic!" yelled a man with long flowing blonde hair, who also happened to be a leading scientist, accomplished mage and current General of the UMC. He was the one known as the Inferno of the North, one of the four gifted children who ruled over the elements. _

_"__We'll rip those annoying scales off your bodies, then beat you to a pulp!" followed the Typhoon of the East, with his own cry of defiance. The auburn-haired Assistant-General of then raised his fist and opened his palm to raise a hurricane and buffet the dragons with sharp, stinging gusts of air. _

_The other two, the Deluge of the South and the Forest of the West, were having their own reservations. _

_The Deluge, a blue-haired female, as per her nature, disliked war and conflict. However, she found herself helplessly in the midst of a war. While she could definitely hold her own in a fight; she wasn't third-in command of the UMC for no reason, but she hated bloodshed when there were much more amicable methods to solve the conflict between the dragons and humans. _

_Forest, on the other hand, was having an internal conflict. While he definitely was not to be trifled with in terms of strength, he fell short of his teammates who could have easily been mistaken for gods, if not for the existence of the titanic dragons, beings of immense strength. He only hoped that he would not pull down his teammates in this crucial time of war. _

_Pulling himself up, he crossed his arms in an open fashion and unleashed a spell of nature. _

**_"_****_Amazonian Overgrowth!"_**

_A shrub popped into existence before the dragons, seemingly innocent and harmless. However, they then extended long tendrils of vines, entangling the unfortunate beasts in them and tightening slowly. _

_Seizing the opportunity, Deluge brought a gigantic wave crashing on the two dragons, leaving them gasping for air, their lungs having partially collapsed despite their sturdy armors of scales. _

_Typhoon then stung the dragons' eyes with his wind magic, and Inferno lunged at the first dragon, his body ablaze with fire. He was determined to break the dragon's scales, stab its heart and incinerate it inside out. _

_However, at the last moment, a hard tail intercepted him, sending him crashing some distance away. _

_The owner of the tail was black with neon-blue tribal tattoos glowing all over his body. _

_The four mages paled even further, all their gusto from earlier vanishing in a puff of resignation. It was hard enough trying to take down two dragons, but now they had to face THREE dragons?! And the third dragon was Acnologia, king of dragons no less! _

_The king gazed upon his opponents with an air of indifference. His eyes betrayed but a little of the anger he was feeling inside at the sight of his underlings being outnumbered and outclassed by these four. He'll teach them to fight four-on-two! He prepared to take a deep breath of his enemies' fear and panic and use it to utterly annihilate them. However, he held himself when he felt a clawed foot on his shoulder. _

_Acnologia turned around to see a crimson-coloured dragon behind him. Igneel, Lord of the Fire Dragons and his most trusted advisor. The mighty red dragon shook his scaly head at his comrade. Behind him were four others, namely Metalicana, Grandine, Weisslogia and Skiadrum. _

_"__Logia, please stop this. Both sides want to avoid bloodshed. This entire war is pointless. The five of us want peace too. We want an end to this war," said he. _

_ "__Igneel, you know as well as I do that we have tried countless times to make peace with these humans. However, time and again, they have defied us and chose to wipe us off the face of Earthland in order to satisfy their endless greed for the land! If an end to the war is what you seek, then that is what you will get! However, this war shall end soon, and only when I have destroyed every last one of this arrogant, greedy species!" was the agitated reply. _

_"__I know. But is this war worth it? Let them have the land. All we need is peace, Acnologia, which we will never get if we choose the path of war. Trust Igneel on this. I cannot think of one instance where you took his counsel and suffered grave consequences. Igneel has always been your trusted advisor and has never failed you. Please heed his words, for our sake if not yours," spoke Grandine in a soothing voice, trying to calm her frustrated leader. _

_"__This is not a matter of trust, Grandine. I know that Igneel's advice is the best way to avoid the war and find peace, however this peace can only be short-lived! What of our next generation? We cannot sacrifice their comfort and happiness just because we wanted peace! What will happen if we let these humans have their way? They will then become discontent with what they have, and come for more! And the next generation of humans will wage war on the next generation of dragons, and the cycle will continue! I am not your king for no reasons, comrades. I have not obtained this position by birthright!" retorted Acnologia. _

_"__Forgive me, Igneel. I know you have never failed me, however, this time, I know. I just know that this war is necessary. It is unavoidable," sighed the great dragon. _

_"__Then you have to forgive me too, friend. The five of us do not wish to participate in this war," spoke Igneel, bowing his head. _

_This made Acnologia snap his head in their direction, nostrils flaring up in anger. _

_"__TRAITORS! BE GONE! AND YOU WERE MY MOST TRUSTED ADVISOR, IGNEEL! HOW COULD YOU-! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" he bellowed, feeling betrayed and almost heartbroken. _

_However, he knew that he could not let this loss prevent him from continuing the war for the greater good. _

_His spirits dampened, he cut his two underlings free of their leafy confines and the three of them flew away from the battlefield to convey the grim news to the rest of their kind. Skiadrum watched sadly as three of his kind flew away in disappointment, and his heart fell further when he realized that he was the cause of that disappointment. _

_Once the threat was gone, the four mages lying on the ground closed their gaping mouths after having witnessed the strange occurrence. _

_The five outcasts bowed their heads in sadness as the weight of their situation descended upon them. They now belonged nowhere. Before, they had a home in their fellow dragons, and now they were all alone, doomed to stand alone and watch the humans and dragons destroy themselves. _

_Then, when the war was finally over, they would be the only ones left standing, all alone in a barren wasteland bathed in blood. _

_They walked away, hearts weighed down with grief. _

_"__Wait!" cried out Inferno, stopping the dragons in their tracks. _

_"__We have a favour to ask of you. Please, just hear us out."_

_"__We need; no, want your help. Please, you don't even have to help us fight the dragons. We just need a little of your magic."_

_"__And why would we do that?" inquired Metalicana, raising a brow. _

_"__Because we need your magic in order to treat the otherwise fatal injuries inflicted by your kind on our people. We, too want to minimize bloodshed and loss of lives, and we need your help for it," pleaded Typhoon, understanding what Inferno was trying to do. _

_Grandine's softened a little, and she looked towards the other dragons, pleading with her eyes to help save these poor people. As much as they were enemies, humans were living creatures as well, and just as valuable. _

_Unable to resist his mate, Igneel let out a sigh. _

_"__Very well, but how exactly do you hope to obtain our magic?" asked Weisslogia, slightly skeptical of the idea. _

_"__That, will be done through a project called 'The Dragon Slayer Program'," said Forest, picking up the hint. _

_"__Dragon Slayer? That sounds fishy," said Skiadrum. _

_"__Uuuhhh uhmmmm…that was the old name for our project, as it was initially used to gather soldiers to amass an army. But now we're using it to help save lives," lied Typhoon through his teeth, hoping that the dragons wouldn't see through his lie. _

_"__*sigh* Fine then," Igneel gave in. _

_"__It's a deal then?" Inferno raised a hand to shake with the dragon's paw, sealing the deal. _

_He was inwardly smirking at his accomplishment. This would be the first step in the humans' attempts to turn the tables on the dragons and begin annihilating them. _

_'__Heh, fools. Dragons' magic is used for one purpose and one purpose alone – to destroy dragons. Like hell it can save lives!' _

_Fairy Tail Guild Hall, October X784_

The guild was bustling with its usual liveliness and cheerfulness. Mages were fooling around, indulging themselves in mugs of beer (sometimes in barrels), others were satisfying themselves in Mirajane's supposedly legendary cooking, and there were some who chose to just laze around and make small talk.

"Hey guys, isn't it about time the team that went to take out Oración Seis came back?" voiced out Max, finally noticing the reason the guild wasn't in one of its brawls yet.

As if on cue, the doors opened with an almighty slam, and in walked the four members of Team Natsu with a petite blue-haired girl none of them had seen before. The girl even had a white cat sitting on her shoulder that resembled Happy, and was dressed in a mini-frilly blouse and skirt!

"Gramps! We're back!" yelled Natsu.

"And we've got a new addition to our guild!"

"U-um-m h-hi. Nice t-to meet you. I h-hope I can join y-your guild, if you d-don't mind…" little Wendy trailed off hesitantly, not knowing how her request would be welcomed.

There was a pregnant pause as the guild processed her stammered request into a more understandable form.

Then they all simultaneously broke into a cheer, calling for a party. They'd probably done this about a hundred times now.

Natsu jumped onto the table and started off with the fireworks, until Erza bonked him on the head, warning him against setting the roof of the guild on fire.

The guild then inquired Wendy regarding her magic, and they were both shocked and proud to hear that she was a dragon slayer.

Amidst all the clamour and celebration, Natsu slunk away to find the Master, who was busy trying to get drunk on the bar top, laughing in delight.

"Master. I need your help," Natsu requested with a grin on his face to mask his worry from the other members.

"Is it about Ryde?" Makarov confirmed, instantly understanding that this was indeed something serious, possibly linked to the topic they had discussed multiple times before. Natsu never walked out halfway through a party or a brawl, and both were happening at the moment.

Natsu nodded, and Makarov decided to ignore the brawl currently going on in favour of putting one of his brat's minds at ease. Besides, Erza would eventually stop the brawl anyways, before any serious damage was done.

"About that, I have something to speak to you as well. Come, we shall speak in my office," he gestured towards the oaken doors of the Master's office.

_Master's Office, Fairy Tail Guild Hall, October X784_

"So, how many times have you talked to this Ryde so far, Natsu? And I presume you have come to me because something similar happened during your mission?"

"Yes, master. So far, as you know, Ryde took over my body during my fight with Erigor, later with Lullaby and then when I was fighting Jellal. This time, when I was fighting Zero, the master Oracion Seis, it happened again. Except…this time my killing impulse was stronger. And my flames had a darker black tint to them. Something is happening to my flames, Gramps. Also, he showed me a memory of his mother being killed…"

"Explain in detail, please"

_X420, Draven residence, Phoenixia, Ishgal_

"_Yes, he is. But what do you want of him?" Sylvia asked warily. _

_"__Mrs. Draven, you know that your husband is an extremely powerful mage, possibly even strong enough to rival the four elemental lords. And, your son, although he has yet to awaken his magic, has potential to become as strong, of not stronger, than his father." _

_"__Get to the point!" Sylvia snapped in irritation, and the soldiers flinched. She may be a journalist now, but she wasn't the wife of Zeref Draven for nothing, and the soldiers didn't want to be on the receiving end of her wrath. _

_"__V-very well. Your son has had the honour of being chosen as one of the pioneer test subjects of the Dragon Slayer program." _

_"__So…basically you're telling me you want to use my son as a guinea pig, and you expect me to consent? No way!" _

_The head soldier shifted from foot to foot uneasily. He was treading a thin line here, but he had to do his job nevertheless. _

_"__I'm sorry madam. You do not have a choice. We merely came to deliver the message to you out of courtesy as Lord Inferno ordered us to do so. Young Master Ryde is on the top of the list for the program, and General Inferno is insistent upon him being a part of the program." _

_"__Out of courtesy my foot! You just don't want the Draven family as your enemies, being one of the oldest families! There's no way I'm letting you take Ryde!" Sylvia gritted out, the winds raging around them. _

_Ryde Dragneel watched in curiosity and slight worry as the conversation between his mother and the mages from the UMC rose in volume and pitch. He then shuddered when he saw his mother prepare to unleash her wrath upon the poor terrifies mages. He was now extremely worried. What could they have said to make his mother so mad? _

_"__I-I'm s-sorry m-madam, but w-we will have t-to t-take him b-b-by force then," said the head mage, preparing his magic with shaky hands as the other mages behind him did so. _

_Before Sylvia could attack them though, she felt an excruciating pain shoot through her body. Looking down, she saw a long, curved dagger sticking through her chest. _

_She screamed in agony as the dagger retreated, only to stab her a few more times. _

_"__I wouldn't have had to do this if you agreed silently, my dear. But then again, when have you ever agreed silently to any of my demands? It always irked me that the woman I fancied was living with another man…Well, at least now you won't be __**living**__," she heard an irritatingly smooth and freaky voice in her ear. _

_"__Ryde…run…," she croaked out before falling forward, the last signs of life slipping out of her now cold, unseeing hazel eyes. _

_Ryde quaked in fear and anger, although the former overrode the latter. He slowly backed away from the strange men. He would one day avenge his mother, but first he had to stay alive in order to get stronger and to do so! _

_"__Run, run little boy. Run all you like, we'll still find you in the end," said General Inferno in a sing-song voice. _

_Master's Office, Fairy Tail Guild Hall, October X784_

"It was horrible. They took the poor boy, dragged him away by his hair to some research facility," Natsu said, shaking in anger. He felt helpless. The aura of the man was so imposing and suffocating, even though it was just a memory. To think there were once such monsters in existence…

Makarov looked down in sadness, regretting that one of his brats had to seen something so disturbing at such a young age. Sure, he had seen such things when on bandit extermination missions, but seeing it from close-up and not being able to do anything about it…

'That reminds me…he did say he wanted to talk to Natsu about something," thought the Master.

"Warrod, I do believe you wanted to talk to young Natsu here?"

Warrod Sequen stepped out of his spot beside the bookshelf to stand in the light, regarding Natsu with calculating eyes.

'WHAT?! It's a tree! No, a man! Nevermind, it's a treeman! But I didn't even notice him there…I was too engrossed in telling Gramps what happened…,' thought the shocked pinkette.

"Natsu, meet Warrod Sequen, one of the four people who founded Fairy Tail. He is now one of the Four Kings of Ishgal, the elite of the Ten Wizard Saints."

If Natsu was shocked earlier, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He was positively dumbfounded. If he was one of the four Kings of Ishgal, he was definitely strong. Probably even stronger than Gramps! But Natsu wasn't about to challenge him to a fight; even **he** wasn't that hard-headed…

As though he read Natsu's mind, Warrod corrected Natsu's unspoken assumption, "I was once strong. Now I'm not as powerful, though I do have comparably more magical energy than ordinary mages. No, I'm just kidding."

"It's a joke! A joke!" he let out a booming laugh good-naturedly.

He then cut to the chase, stating his reasons for being at Fairy Tail

"Now, Natsu Dragneel, I hear from Makarov that you've been having weird visions, or rather, memories of one Ryde Draven."

Natsu opened his mouth, and Warrod raised a hand to stop him, smiling serenely.

"Yes, I do know who Ryde Draven is, but this is not the time for that. All will be revealed to you in due time. My purpose for being here is to make an offer. I want you to be my apprentice. You have much to learn in the field of magic, and I wish to be the one to equip you with the necessary skills to make your mark on the world."

Natsu was left speechless.

"B-but why? Why me?"

"You are the one destined to bring justice to the Four Elemental Lords, child. They have sinned, and for that they need to repent. I too have sinned, and this is my penance. Will you humour this old man by agreeing to be my apprentice?"

Makarov was shocked as well. Nevertheless, he thought that it would do Natsu good to accept the offer. After all, it's not every day that you get one of the Four Kings of Ishgal knocking on your door to teach you magic.

Natsu nodded dumbly, his mouth still gaping wide open.

"Very well, we shall depart then. You will be travelling with me. It is essential to our plans that no one finds out I have taken you in as an apprentice. For that, we will have to be constantly on the move. Makarov, please tell the guild members that Natsu is doing a special three-year long mission while looking for his dragon parent. And wait for an hour after we are gone before you tell them, otherwise knowing Fairy Tail, they are sure to come looking for their missing comrade," said Warrod, leaping out of the window with surprising grace for an old man.

Natsu gaped after his new master before he, too, leapt out of the window. Time to get prepared for a whole load of shit ahead.

"Seeya, gramps!"

**Pride: *stretches and hears multiple pops* Finally done… Ugh the last part was rushed. I'm not really satisfied with the ending of this chapter, but my brain has currently decided to hibernate. I'm currently functioning on my spare mini-brain and autopilot mode. And yes, now you see the two sins I've committed (other than Pride, of course). I have made apprenticed Natsu to someone again. Also, one timeskip right up. Would you like fries with that? **

**Anyways, thank you everyone for your kind reviews, I really appreciate them. **

**Do drop a review on your way out!**

**'****Til we meet again.**

**Yours truly, **

**Pride**


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